


Birthday Girl

by fvandomtrvsh, WardenRoot



Series: The Fave Teacher [1]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Ava is the best mom, Cute, F/F, Fluff, Kid Fic, teacher!Sara
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-05-28 12:10:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19393852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fvandomtrvsh/pseuds/fvandomtrvsh, https://archiveofourown.org/users/WardenRoot/pseuds/WardenRoot
Summary: Ava's daughter invites her cute teacher to her birthday party





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SuperStitious18](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperStitious18/gifts).



> HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEE!!!  
> We really hope you like this <3  
> (Chapter 2 will hopefully be done sometime soon 😅)

The light turned green and Ava had to keep herself from speeding. She hated being late to pick up her daughter but work had a way to just drag on and on all the time. She turned right and sighed in relief as the school came into view. She parked on the almost empty street, a smile pulling at her lips at the sight of her daughter. Alexa was waving her arms around excitedly as she talked to her teacher. Ava ignored the flutter in her stomach as Miss Lance laughed at something Alexa said and hurried up the pathway to join them. 

"Mom! Look what I can do!" Alexa yelled. 

Ava's heart dropped when she noticed the skateboard, Alexa loved the thing and would take it everywhere if she could. 

"Alexa! Be careful!" she called out. 

Alexa smiled and pushed chestnut curls out of her face before jumping onto the skateboard. Ava watched her daughter do some kind of jump perfectly, landing safely next to Miss Lance. 

"All right! That was great, Lex!" Miss Lance praised her, raising a hand for a high five. 

"I thought I told you not to do any of those jumps without proper equipment," Ava scolded lightly. 

Alexa hurried to Ava's side and hugged her waist. "Sorry!"

Ava couldn't help but smile, it was really hard not to when looking at Alexa's adorable face. "Just don't do it again, okay?" She kissed the top of Alexa's head softly. 

Alexa nodded, letting go of her waist to go pick up her skateboard. 

"I invited Miss Lance to my birthday party on Saturday!" she announced loudly. 

“Oh,” Ava said, not expecting the announcement. “That’s nice, honey. Why don’t you go wait in the car while I talk to Miss Lance? Make sure her schedule is clear on such short notice and all.”

“Pft, she’s my teacher, where else would she go after school?” Miss Lance chuckled at Alexa’s words, looking down at her with a fond smile.

“I think I just found the topic for next week’s class gathering,” she said, meeting Ava’s gaze with a mischievous smirk. 

Ava’s lips turned up in a small smile at her words as she watched Alexa run over to the car.

“Is that okay?” Miss Lance asked once she was out of earshot. "That she invited me, I mean."

“Of course,” Ava said, once more thrown off, this time by the fact that it sounded like Miss Lance was actually considering turning up. “It’s Alexa’s party and she can invite whoever she wants to come. Plus it’d be nice with another adult. There’s always Gary but he’s basically one of the kids. Do you even want to come? Alexa will understand if you can’t make it, you don’t have to just because she asked.” Ava drew in a breath when she finished talking, feeling oddly aware of herself.

“She’s a good kid. Don’t tell any of the other parents but she’s one of my favorites. That’s not surprising though, what with how great her mom is.” Miss Lance smiled warmly at her and Ava’s gaze was drawn to her freckles. Ava always found herself lost in them, them and everything else about her.

Ava shook her head internally, chastising herself for her thoughts. This was Alexa’s teacher, she could remain professional, couldn’t she?

“So you’ll come to the party, then?” Ava asked, a little hopeful. “You don’t have to stay the whole time if you don’t want to, you can just swing by if you’d rather—” Ava’s ramble was stopped by a tender hand on her arm.

“I’ll stop by,” Miss Lance said, giving Ava’s arm a squeeze. “From what you’ve told me, you’re not used to being around so many kids. I, on the other hand—” Miss Lance removed her hand from Ava’s arm to instead point her thumb at herself, making Ava miss the warmth— “deal with the little devil-angel hybrids daily. Besides, I heard there’ll be a cute girl there, I could never say no to that.”  Miss Lance walked backward, winking as she ended her sentence. “Text me the details?”

“Right,” Ava said, fighting a blush with all her might. “I will text you the details.” The thought sounded wild in her mind, of course she had her number, all the parents did, but Ava had never used it before and to use it for something not technically school related felt weird. It also made her heart flutter, thinking about texting her daughter’s too cute teacher.

"Gary! Be careful!" Ava cried out when Gary almost tipped the ladder she was standing on. 

"Sorry! Sorry!" Gary hurried past her to put the box he was carrying down. "I finished the outside. And the bounce house is up, I had to talk Alexa out of jumping in."

"Thanks, Gary." Ava climbed down from the ladder with a tired sigh. "What do you think?"

She pointed at the happy birthday sign she had just hung up, full of blue unicorns riding skates. It was exactly what Alexa had asked for and Ava had to get it custom made. 

"Alexa is gonna love it!" Gary exclaimed excitedly. 

Ava smiled, pleased. Truth was she still got nervous about throwing parties, it wasn't something she had ever had to worry about before Alexa came into her life. 

“Hey, do one of those unicorns look crooked to you?” she asked, tilting her head to try and figure out which direction it was turned. Gary opened his mouth but before he could get any words out, Ava spoke again, having figured out that it was just an inch off the perfect position. “I think it does,” she said, already moving back to the ladder.

"Mom! Mom! Miss Lance is here!" Alexa yelled as she burst inside the house. 

The sudden appearance and yelling of her daughter was enough to throw her off balance and Ava let out a yelp as she felt herself falling through the air. Only instead of landing on the hard floor and possibly ruining her daughter’s birthday with a concussion, Ava felt a hand grab her waist and pull her to a soft body.

“Hey,” Miss Lance said, a light giggle in her voice as she helped Ava steady herself.

“Hey,” Ava said as she let out a breath, relieved at having been caught but embarrassed at Miss Lance finding her like that. Not that it mattered. Miss Lance was her daughter’s teacher, nothing more. Though of course Ava should look professional while interacting with Alexa’s teacher. She should under no circumstances feel warmth spread through her cheeks at Miss Lance’s smile.

Which was  _ not _ happening. The house was just very warm was all. Miss Lance’s dimpled smile had nothing to do with it whatsoever. Not at all.

“Is that for me?” Alexa’s excited question brought Ava out of her thoughts as she turned her gaze to her daughter, who was looking excitedly at the present in Miss Lance’s hand.

“Alexa!” Ava chastised. 

“It’s okay,” Miss Lance said as she gently let go of Ava and smiled down at Alexa. “No, this is for the other birthday girl.”

“I’m the only birthday girl!” Alexa said with a frown.

“Huh, then I guess it’s for you,” Miss Lance said, scrunching up her face in thought.

“Yes!” Alexa cheered, grabbing the package from Miss Lance’s hand eagerly.

“Are you okay?” Miss Lance asked, turning her attention back to Ava as Alexa got to work with opening her gift. Ava was about to protest on Alexa not waiting until everyone else got there, but she let it go as she looked into Miss Lance’s soft eyes.

“I’m fine. Thank you for, you know, not letting me fall. I appreciate it, Miss Lance.” Ava sighed internally at her own awkwardness.

“I’m always happy to help pretty girls,” Miss Lance said with a wink that left Ava’s cheeks with a blush. “And, please, call me Sara, you’re not one of my students."

“Thank you, Sara,” Ava said, the name feeling too intimate and deepening the light redness on her cheeks.

“A sloth!” Alexa blurted out, making Ava remember where they were. “I love her! I’m gonna go introduce her to the others, come meet them, Miss Lance!” Alexa tugged on Miss Lance’s hand excitedly, trying to pull her towards the stairs.

“Gimme a sec, kid, I’ll be right there.”

Alexa ran up the stairs, hugging her new stuffed sloth to her chest.

“Alexa! No running inside the house!” Ava yelled after her. “Sorry, Mis— Sara, she forgets the rules when she’s excited. Thank you for coming.”

“Don’t worry about it. I love kid’s parties, lots of sugar and fun.”  _ Sara _ — that was going to take some time getting used to — smiled, making Ava’s lips involuntarily pull up in a matching one. “Anyway, I believe I have some stuffed animals to meet who I’ve heard so much about. I’m especially looking forward to meeting the Unicorns, I have to make sure baby Unicorn is okay after the sickness last week. Let me know if you need any help.”

“Ah, yes. Tell them I said hi.” Ava sighed as she watched Sara walk towards the stairs, much more calmly than Alexa had done. She heard an excited yell from the top of it when Alexa noticed Sara finally following her. She probably thought she had been alone for an eternity.

“Omg, what was that?” Gary asked, making Ava jump as she remembered he was there.

“What was what?” she asked, forcing her eyes away from the stairs.

“You and Miss Lance?” Gary tried to wiggle his eyebrows which would have been comical if not for the panic Ava felt at what he was insinuating.

“That was nothing,” Ava said just a tad more defensively than the situation warranted. “She’s my daughter’s teacher and agreed to help keep the kids in line because Alexa asked her, that’s all.”

Gary just looked at her for a few seconds, unnerving Ava with every that passed. “You’re blushing,” he said in the end with a grin on his face.

“I am  _ not _ blushing.” Ava turned away from him, pretending to be looking at the decoration again, feeling her cheeks heat even further at being called out.

“Are you going to ask her out?”

“ _ No! _ I don’t even know if she’s single.” That was a lie, Alexa had excitedly told her in passing one day that Sara was very much single. But that was weeks ago, someone like Sara wouldn’t have a hard time finding someone if she tried. Besides, Gary didn’t need to know.

“She came to a kid’s birthday party on a  _ Saturday _ and she came early no less so she could help. And did you see the way she smiled at you?” Gary’s words conjured up an image of exactly what that smile looked like and for a moment Ava felt herself getting lost in it all over again. “Miss Lance  _ likes _ you.”

The doorbell rang, saving Ava from having to continue with the conversation as she excused herself to greet whichever of Alexa’s friends had come early.

The party was in full swing and Ava was already exhausted. How did people willingly deal with so many children on a daily basis? Ava had more than enough with her employees. 

“Aiden, no running!” she called out after one of Alexa’s classmates, who was running back out of the house. To his credit, the boy stopped, looking around himself bewildered for a moment before continuing with a slower pace.

Ava sighed, taking a moment to look over her surroundings. The bounce house she had loaned for the party was full of laughing children and so were the rest of Alexa’s outdoor toys. Ava was only a little worried that something would go wrong. It was the first time she had been around so many kids, last year’s party — Alexa’s first birthday with her — had only had a few of Alexa’s closest friends, but this year she wanted her entire class.

“Having fun?” a voice asked from behind her, making Ava whip her head around to see who had snuck up on her, finding Sara smiling at her.

“Oh, you know, everything is…” Ava gestured around them, not quite knowing how to respond to the question.

“Alexa seems to be having fun,” Sara said, nodding at the bounce house.

“Yeah, she does, doesn’t she?” Ava said, looking the same direction with a smile on her lips. Alexa enjoying the day was all she wanted from it.

“You did good. The bounce house was definitely a great idea.” Sara bumped their shoulders together, making Ava turn her gaze back on her.

Before Ava could give a response, her pocket started vibrating. “I have to go check on the pizzas.”

“Want some help?” Ava was about to refuse — Sara was Alexa’s guest, after all, and not Ava’s helper — but as she looked at Sara’s earnest face, all she could think was that she didn’t want to be away from her.

“I’d like that,” she said instead, offering Sara a smile before starting on a path to the kitchen. Sara followed her diligently.

When she got to the kitchen, the first thing Ava did was opening the oven, checking on the two pizzas inside of it. Determining they were perfectly done, she asked Sara, “Give me those oven mittens?” pointing at them with her head.

Sara jumped into action at once, quickly fetching them from their hook above the counter. “Do you think you made enough food?” she asked as she gave them to Ava, sounding thoughtful.

“You don’t think I did? I wasn’t sure, I don’t know how much kids eat, what if I didn’t buy enough? The children need to eat,” Ava rambled as she pulled the pizzas out of the oven, replacing them with two new ones. When she turned to Sara, she found her trying to hold back a laugh. “What?”

“Ava, you have four pizzas and how many packets of hotdogs?” Sara said, gesturing to the counter. “You’ll be fine, and what they don’t eat in food, they’ll more than make up for in cake.” Sara gave her a pat on the arm and for a moment Ava forgot how to respond.

“If you’re sure,” she said in the end, looking over the food. “I just want everything to be perfect for her.”

“I can assure you that she’s having the time of her life right now. You’re a great mom.” Sara smiled softly at her and Ava felt her heart skip a beat, both at Sara’s words and the way her eyes seemed to sparkle.

“Help me put all of these in bread?” Ava asked, looking away and gesturing to the breadless hotdogs.

“Yes, ma’am,” Sara said with a lazy salute, reaching for one of the packets of bread.

They worked well together, and soon enough they had three plates of hotdog towers. Sara gently moved them from the counter to the dining room as Ava dealt with the task of cutting up the pizzas.

“Shall we fetch the kids or are you hiding more food in here?” Sara asked when all the food had been moved.

“I think everything is ready,” Ava said, taking one last glance around the room to make sure they hadn’t missed something.

Back out in the garden, the group of children was somehow even louder than before. Gary was supposed to keep them under control, but instead, he had entered in a tug war over his tie with one of the kids.

Ava tried to get their attention, but with no luck — there was just no hearing her desperate pleas over all the noise. Beside her, Sara raised her hands, and five claps in a special rhythm rang through the air. To Ava’s surprise, all the noise suddenly stopped as all the kids clapped back in the exact same rhythm. Sara looked at her as if expecting her to say something, but Ava was too baffled to do anything but just stare.

“Who’s hungry?” Sara asked when Ava did not say anything. There was a chorus of “me” followed by the children making for the door. “No running!” Sara said before all the tiny legs could ‘cause Ava panic.

“How did you do that?” Ava asked, following the children with Sara at her side.

“Teacher magic,” Sara said, wiggling her eyebrows at Ava. “Nothing’s more effective to get them to pay attention.”

“Thank you. I’ll have to try that on my employees,” Ava said with a light chuckle and was rewarded with Sara laughing.

“I may have used it on the big children I like to call my friends sometimes,” Sara admitted, lowering her voice as if telling Ava a secret.

“Do you think it’d work on Gary?” Ava threw a glance over her shoulder, catching sight of Gary trying his best to straighten out the tie he reclaimed after Sara’s clap.

“Only one way to find out.” Sara raised an eyebrow at her before looking at Gary, who had given up on his crumpled tie and was just starting to follow them.

When they reached the dining room, Alexa was quick to take her place at the head of the table, with the rest of the kids finding the nearest chair available. They eagerly started digging in, a mix of pizza and hotdogs disappearing from their respective plates. 

They seemed to be enjoying it, and Ava felt a warmth spread through her at the realization. She was also happy to see that the juice boxes she bought were being consumed along with the soda, and that the children did not just drink the unhealthy soda.

“Think there’s enough food that we can steal some?” Sara whispered in her ear, startling Ava with her sudden closeness.

“Hmm,” Ava said, looking at the still half full plates, “maybe just a little.”

“You a hotdogs or pizza gal?” 

“Pizza, please.”

“Coming right up!” Sara said, already on her way to the table. She returned with a hotdog and slice of pizza for herself and two pizza slices for Ava, wasting no time digging into her own food.

Ava let out a breath of relief when she closed the door after the last child was picked up by their parents. She was thrilled over having been able to give Alexa the party she wanted, but she was more exhausted than she could ever remember being over the day she had had. At least she had had help, she didn’t know what she would have done without Sara present.

Gary yawned and said his goodbyes, giving Alexa a hug before leaving. Alexa was only slightly hesitant over leaving all her new toys to say goodbye, but quickly went back to them when Gary had gone. Sara smiled at her antics from her place on the ground, having been shown all the new toys as Ava was busy fetching the right child for the parents who came to pick them up.

“You two having fun?” Ava asked, ruffling Alexa’s hair a little as she joined them.

“Yes!” Alexa exclaimed, lifting up one of the toys. She almost dropped it, however, when her tiny mouth opened in a yawn.

“I think it’s time for someone to go to sleep,” Ava said, stretching her arms out for her daughter.

“Noooo,” Alexa said, pulling her hands to her. “I wanna play more.”

“Honey, it’s late and I’m sure Sara is getting tired too.” Ava looked at Sara, not wanting her to feel like she had to stay any longer.

“Please play with me more?” Alexa begged, looking at Sara with the biggest puppy eyes. Ava knew that had they been directed at her, she would not be able to resist. Which they were, just a second later when Alexa turned them on her. “Please, mom?”

“As long as it’s okay with Sara,” Ava sighed, pulling Alexa’s head in so she could kiss her forehead.

“Yes!” Alexa said, picking up a toy and handing it to Sara.

“I’ll go clean up in the kitchen while you two do that.” Ava looked between them once more, Sara listening excitedly to Alexa telling her about the toy in her hand, and headed for the kitchen with a smile.

It was pretty clean already, but there was still some snacks spread around for the kids. Ava was pleased to see her platter of healthy snacks among the candy was almost empty.

Cleaning up the rest did not take long, and soon enough Ava was walking back into the living room after having taken a small piece of cake. When she got back in, Alexa yawned, her eyes closing as her body leaned itself towards Sara.

Ava saw Sara chuckle lowly as she stood up and pulled Alexa into her arms, seemingly not having noticed Ava watching them yet. When she turned around and spotted her, she froze for a moment.

“I was gonna go find you but I didn’t want to leave her on the floor,” Sara said, tightening her hold on the small body in her arms. Alexa yawned again, lazily wrapping her arms around Sara’s neck and rubbing her head against Sara’s shoulder. The sight made Ava smile involuntarily as a feeling she did not know how to pinpoint spread through her.

“Do you mind carrying her upstairs?” Ava asked, glancing over at the stairs.

“Not at all,” Sara assured her, softly walking over to them. Ava followed, not once taking her eyes off Alexa’s tiny head.

Somehow, between the two of them, they managed to get a half-asleep Alexa to brush her teeth before putting her to bed. Sara waited in the doorframe as Ava tucked her in and kissed her goodnight. Alexa mumbled out a sleepy, “Night,” as Ava got ready to leave.

Ava gave her one last lingering look before making her way out the door, pulling it almost closed behind her.

“Thank you,” she told Sara, talking lowly as the two made their way away from Alexa’s room.

“It was my pleasure,” Sara said, smiling at her.

“Would you like to stay? I’ve got half a cake and plenty of food left if you’re still hungry.” Ava bit her lip, feeling awkward at the question but not wanting Sara to leave just yet.

“How could I ever say no to cake?” Sara asked with a smirk.

Ava sighed, starting a path towards the kitchen, feeling happy about how the day had turned out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to @Starling83 for betaing this chapter <3

Sara made herself at home on the couch as she waited for Ava to return with the promised cake. As she waited, her thoughts drifted to the first day she had met Ava. She had followed her daughter to class the first day of school and had immediately introduced herself to Sara when she saw her. Sara had never forgotten that first “Ms. Lance” directed at her by Ava. Her face had been strained and her handshake the firmest Sara had ever known, all the while never breaking eye contact. It had been clear she did not trust Sara, that she was more than dubious about leaving her daughter in a place filled with strangers, but Sara liked to think she had earned her trust over the following months.

The title, however, remained, no matter how much Ava’s face softened.

Sara had never truly believed in such formalities — most parents seemed to prefer it, and so Sara acquiesced, but she herself preferred to simply call people by name. Ava had never once failed to call her by her title — not until her daughter invited her to her birthday party. 

It was endearing, how Ava always kept to formalities. After hearing her say Sara’s actual name, however, Sara never wanted to hear her say anything else again. 

Though she probably would, once Sara had finally excused herself and left the little window she was allowed into their lives outside school. 

Still, Ava had offered her cake, so it would be rude to leave now. And so, Sara would allow herself to stay in the window for a little while longer.

“Sara?” Ava called, poking her head out from the kitchen, drawing Sara out of her thoughts.

“Yes?” Sara replied, searching Ava out.

It took a moment for Ava to ask what she wanted, as if she was contemplating asking at all. But in the end, when Sara was almost ready to prompt her again, Ava said, “You like wine, right?”

“Who doesn’t?” Sara said and offered Ava a grin. Her thoughts wandered to her bike currently parked outside, but was it really that far to walk home? (It most definitely was, Ava didn’t just live on the nice side of town, she lived on the nicest street Sara had ever laid eyes on, somewhere Sara’s apartment certainly was nowhere near.) She could always call a cab.

Ava disappeared again then reappeared with a tray which she carefully carried to the coffee table. Sara curiously looked at what she had put on it as she placed it on said table, spotting a red wine more fancy than Sara would dare even look at the price tag of. The tray also came with leftover cake and food that Sara couldn’t wait to eat.

“I didn’t know what you’d want,” Ava said sheepishly, looking between Sara and the tray before averting her gaze.

“All of it looks delicious,” Sara assured her, reaching for a slice of cake as Ava opened the bottle of wine.

Their conversation flowed easily enough. Sara couldn’t even remember half the things they said, she mostly just remembered how captivating Ava was when she spoke and how effortless she was to talk to.

“Alexa won’t stop talking about you,” Ava said when they were a couple of wine glasses in, piquing Sara’s interest.

“Oh?” she prompted, curious as to what her student had to say about her.

“Yeah, it’s always Miss Lance this or Miss Lance that. ‘Mom, did you know Miss Lance knows martial arts? Did you know Miss Lance drives a _bike_? Miss Lance told me my spelling’s getting better. Did you know Miss Lance is single?’” Ava’s eyes widened as she finished the last sentence and her cheeks grew adorably pink.

Sara chuckled, imagining an excited Alexa sitting by the table and going on and on about whatever topic entered her mind. She always liked to talk in class but she had always respected that when Sara spoke, the class was silent, something Ava had obviously taught her. Sara rewarded her by letting her talk as much as she wanted when they were doing exercises, provided she also worked at the same time.

“She does like to talk,” Sara said with an absent-minded smile. “Didn’t realize she was so fond of talking about me though.”

“She admires you a lot.” The look Ava gave her was so honest and _naked_ that Sara had to take a moment to remember how to function. “You don’t know how happy I am that she got you as a teacher. The weeks before school started I was terrified that the school wouldn’t be good enough, or the teacher wouldn’t be kind enough, or the kids too cruel…” Ava trailed off, taking a second to just stare at her wine before turning her gaze back on Sara. “I’m just grateful that she has you.”

“I admire her a lot too and I’m grateful to have her as a student,” Sara said as she looked towards the stairs. “She has a brilliant mind and an amazing personality. She actually _listens_ when I tell the class to do something and you have no idea how rare that is as a teacher. You’re a wonderful mom and Alexa is lucky to have you.” Sara looked back into Ava’s eyes, finding her biting back a smile as her intense gaze was trained on Sara. 

“There’s also the bonus that if she wasn’t my student, I wouldn’t have met you.” That seemed to catch Ava off guard, breaking the stare that was focused on Sara. “She talks a lot about you too, you know,” Sara said, moving her hand — that she was resting on the back of the couch — to Ava’s hair so she could brush some behind her ear and see her face better.

Ava looked up at her again with her eyes half-hidden behind her eyelids, both curiosity and something dangerously close to vulnerability hiding in those wonderful blue eyes.

“‘My mommy makes the best pancakes’,” Sara began in her best Alexa impression, spotting Ava’s lips turn up in a small smile. Alexa had gone on many a rant about her mom’s pancakes, stating multiple times that better pancakes didn’t exist. “‘Mommy spent the whole morning learning how to braid my hair the way I wanted’.” Alexa had been particularly proud of her intricate braid that school day, not only because she had seen it on TV and thought it was cool but also because her _mom_ had made it.

“‘She always calms me down after a nightmare and makes me feel safe and she gives the best hugs.’” Sara’s finger traveled from Ava’s hair to her temple, lightly touching the skin there. “‘She’s super good at her job, she sings with me when I ask her to’, and” —Sara took a breath and ever so slowly let her fingers slide into Ava’s hair— “‘she’s a lesbian’.” Ava froze slightly as Sara finished, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

“Every word spoken with so much love and pride,” Sara said as she lightly scratched Ava’s scalp, wanting to relax her once more. And it seemed to work as her features softened and she leaned into Sara’s touch.

Sara couldn’t help herself from leaning forward. Her hand grew firmer against Ava’s head as she moved closer to her, licking her own lips as her eyes flitted down to Ava’s. She felt it against her hand when Ava registered what was happening and, to Sara’s delight, leaned closer to meet her.

Only, before either of them could travel the entire way, _something_ happened and Ava jumped back with a surprised yelp. They both looked down in tandem to see what little wine was left in Ava’s glass poured onto her pants. Ava’s eyes grew wide with panic as she looked at them before she suddenly moved into action.

“I’m so sorry, I will be right back,” Ava said as she put her glass on the table and practically ran up the stairs.

Sara sighed, downing the rest of her own glass before placing it on the table next to Ava’s. Maybe trying to kiss her student’s parent wasn’t the brightest idea, but it wasn’t her fault that Ava was so magnetizing and adorable and— Sara couldn’t even put words to _what_ she was, she just knew that if she had a redo button, she would have done everything the exact same way. Except maybe put their glasses on the table first.

It took a few minutes for Ava to return, towards the end of which Sara was getting worried she had scared her away. She walked over to the window as she waited, looking out into the darkening evening. In the low light coming from the porch, she could see the bounce house Ava had rented still standing tall. Looking at it made her remember going to one in her own childhood. 

Moments later, Ava descended the stairs, making Sara pull her gaze away from the window and onto her. She had changed pants (as was to be expected), and what she was wearing now made Sara gasp.

“I didn’t take you for a dog person,” Sara said, pointing at Ava’s comfy-looking PJ pants with sleepy dogs printed all over it when Ava only looked confused. Ava’s eyes widened when she looked at herself, as if she hadn’t noticed which pair of pants she had grabbed.

“Alexa made me buy them,” she confessed and bit her lip as she made her way towards Sara. “She insisted my nightclothes weren’t comfortable enough and picked out a matching set for us.” Ava smiled as she looked down at the pants again, clearly fond of the memory.

“That’s cute,” Sara said, not finding it hard at all to imagine the six-year-old — one or two years younger — making her mom get new PJs. Ava’s cheeks colored and Sara was finding it harder and harder to take her eyes off her.

“What were you looking at?” Ava asked as she cleared her throat, nodding her head towards the window.

“The bounce house,” Sara said, glancing quickly out of the window. “One time when we were kids, me and Laurel — my sister — couldn’t agree on sharing the space in one and ended up fighting. Mom and dad were not happy after dragging us all the way to be allowed to jump in it, but eventually we worked things out. Part of the reason may have been our dad bribing us with ice cream.”

Sara looked back at Ava and found her with a small smile and her eyes moving between Sara and the bounce house. “You and your sister sound like a handful,” she said, finally stopping her eyes at Sara.

“We were,” Sara confirmed with a chuckle. “Well, I was anyway. Laurel was when I made her be.” Ava raised an eyebrow but Sara didn’t elaborate, instead asking Ava, “What about you? Got any fun bounce house memories?”

“I’ve never been in one,” Ava said with a lilt of sadness as she looked through the window. “It wasn’t really one of my priorities as a kid.”

“Never?” As Ava shook her head, an idea formed in Sara’s mind. “Come with me,” she said, grabbing hold of Ava’s hand as she made for the door.

“Where are we going?” Ava asked, properly grabbing onto Sara’s hand as she let her drag her.

“You’ll see,” Sara answered, stopping for just a second to figure out how to open Ava’s door.

“Wait!” Ava said when Sara walked out of the door a moment later, but despite her words, Ava kept following her without trying to make her stop. “What about shoes?”

“You won’t need them,” Sara insisted, dragging her along until they stopped right in front of the bounce house.

It took a moment for Ava to actually look at where they were, and when she finally did, her whole body froze, making Sara momentarily question if this was a good decision. Sara took a chance and stepped onto the airy contraption, hoping Ava would follow when she felt the pull in their still joined hands. However, instead of Ava following, she let go of Sara’s hand, leaving Sara with a split-second feeling of emptiness as her hand became vacant.

“You said you’d never been in one,” Sara said as she turned around, raising her hands to gesture to the walls and roof surrounding her. “Now’s your chance.” Ava bit her lip as Sara extended her hand again, willing Ava to take it. It took a second but then the warmth of Ava’s hand was back against Sara’s palm and Ava allowed herself to be pulled up to her.

The action put them right in each other’s space and for a few painfully slow moments, Ava’s warmth and smell engulfed Sara’s senses. Sara took a step back and released Ava’s hand as she closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath filled with the fresh night air. When she opened them, she found Ava looking at her, though she averted her gaze before Sara could figure out why.

“C’mon, bounce houses aren’t for standing around,” Sara said, motioning for Ava to start moving. When Ava only looked at her skeptically, Sara sighed and lightly grabbed her hand again, determined to get her to have fun before the night ended.

It took a few minutes of Sara showing her how it was done and encouraging her, but in the end, Ava started lightly jumping, testing out the limits of the bounce house. Sara was just about to let go of her hand and let her jump on her own when Ava’s hold tightened and her eyes widened.

“I’m going to fall!” she yelled, her voice filled with panic. Sara pulled her towards herself in an effort to stabilize her, but instead Ava’s momentum toppled them both, making Sara’s back hit the bouncy floor with Ava right on top of her.

Ava looked mortified, but Sara couldn’t help but laugh. Ava narrowed her eyes at her, looking completely indignant, which only made Sara laugh harder. After a few seconds, Ava’s exterior cracked and the most beautiful sound Sara had ever heard escaped her lips as she let out a full body laugh, still on top of Sara.

Sara would have been happy to just lay like that forever.

However, after a while, the laughter quieted down and both of them were left trying to catch their breath. Sara’s hand was still holding firmly onto Ava’s and during the fall, their hands had become trapped in between their torsos. Sara could feel the back of Ava’s hand against her chest as it rose with every breath she took. The fact that it was still there shocked her.

Sara would have expected Ava to move away by now, to decide that lying on top of her daughter’s teacher in a bounce house would be a much too indecent and unprofessional thing to do. But, even as both of them calmed down, she was still there, keeping herself slightly up with one unstable hand on the floor.

Sara couldn’t help her free hand going up to Ava’s temple, couldn’t help laying her palm flat against her cheek or sliding it into the hair below her ear. She certainly couldn’t help lifting herself up as much as she could despite Ava’s weight on top of her, or the sharp intake of breath she took when their lips finally touched.

Sara felt like she was floating when Ava kissed her back and moved the hand working to keep her up to be tangled in Sara’s hair instead. Sara took the opportunity to roll them over, made easier than usual by the bouncy nature of the current ground beneath them. Ava’s back landed in a groove, making it easier to keep their current position as Sara pulled her hand from in between their bodies.

Ava let out a sound of protest that died out in her throat when Sara’s newly freed hand found the hem of her shirt and pushed underneath it, feeling Ava’s bare skin against her palm. Sara darted her tongue out to lick Ava’s lips and it was all it took for them to part, allowing Sara free access to her mouth.

Sara moaned as she finally properly tasted her, her tongue slowly licking into Ava’s mouth. Ava’s hold on her hair tightened as Ava’s other hand came up to Sara’s neck, pulling her closer. When Sara tried to push her shirt up further, however, Ava pulled back with a hurried, “Wait!” escaping her lips.

Sara pushed herself up a few inches and looked at Ava, who looked absolutely stunning with her face flushed and lips bruised. All Sara wanted to do was kiss her again. And she almost did, but Ava’s firm hand on her collarbone stopped her from leaning back down.

“We can’t…” Ava started, obviously at a loss for words as she bit her lip.

“Have sex in a bounce house?” Sara finished, enjoying the way Ava’s cheeks deepened in color as her face contorted at Sara’s words.

“Plus Alexa is right upstairs,” Ava said, not giving a vocalized acknowledgement of Sara’s words.

“Right,” Sara sighed, having half-forgotten where they were. “Do you want me to leave?” More than anything, Sara wanted the answer to that question to be no, but she was terrified the opposite would be leaving those soft, soft lips.

“No!” Ava exclaimed quickly, tightening the hand still in Sara’s hair.

“Good,” Sara said as she exhaled, letting a pleased smile paint her lips. She allowed herself to lean back down to give Ava a chaste kiss before pulling back up. “So what do you want to do?” Ava could tell her she wanted to watch paint dry and Sara would accept if only to spend more time with her.

“The kissing is nice,” Ava said, training her eyes at a spot above Sara’s shoulder and biting her lip.

“ _Nice?_ ” Sara asked with a huff. Ava only gave a giggle in response as Sara captured those lips in a kiss once more.

“Nice,” Ava confirmed when they pulled back. “But not here,” she continued, pulling a face.

“Alright,” Sara relented, rolling off of her so she could jump onto firm ground. She turned around to offer her hand to Ava, helping her get down from the bounce house. When they walked, however, Ava took the lead, tugging at Sara’s hand like Sara had done earlier.

Sara looked around herself curiously as Ava led her through the house. She was pulled up the stairs but to the other end of the upstairs floor than where Alexa’s room was. When Ava pulled her through a door to find a comfortable-looking bed with soft looking white sheets and an open door leading to a personal bathroom, Sara’s eyebrow involuntarily arched.

“Don’t get any ideas, the living room doesn’t have any doors to close,” Ava said quickly when she looked at Sara.

“Makes sense,” Sara said distractedly, much more interested in going back to making out with Ava than the logistics of _where_ it happened.

Ava let go of her hand and sat down on the edge of the bed, twirling her fingers in her lap. It took Sara two steps to close the distance. Once she did, she gently reached for Ava’s hands and lifted them into the air, waiting for Ava to look at her before proceeding.

When she lifted her eyes to Sara again and offered her a shy smile, Sara pulled her hands apart and eased herself onto Ava’s lap, softly placing Ava’s hands on her thighs when she was done.

“Is this okay?” she asked as she cupped Ava’s face in her hands, eager to get back to their previous activity.

“More than,” Ava said, sliding her arms around to Sara’s back as their lips met once more. 

This was _definitely_ preferable to watching paint dry.

***

The sound of a door being slammed open followed by a much too enthusiastic voice shouting, “Mommy! Mommy!” pulled Sara out of her slumber. She groaned in protest and pulled the covers over her head, hoping for just a few more minutes of merciful sleep.

The sudden presence of a small body jumping on the bed made sure that wouldn’t happen.

“Good morning, honey,” a sleepy, familiar voice said, making Sara freeze and realize _why_ there was a small person in the room. She couldn’t help a smile as the previous night’s contents came back to her, but it only made her freeze more where she was hidden under the covers. In hindsight, sleeping in Ava’s bed might not have been the best idea.

Before Sara could decide what to about her current situation, the covers were pulled back with a surprising amount of strength for a six year old. Alexa’s jumping paused for a second as Sara opened her eyes. After a moment passed, an excited grin made its way onto Alexa’s face.

“Miss Lance!” she exclaimed, dropping to her knees before basically throwing herself at Sara, hugging her midriff.

“Hey, Lex,” Sara said, giving her an awkward pat on her back.

“Are you staying for breakfast?” she asked, pulling back as quickly and unexpectedly as the hug had happened. “Mom’s making pancakes, right, Mom?” With Alexa’s attention turned back to her mom, Sara finally got a second to breathe after waking up.

“I guess I am,” Ava said hesitantly, looking warily between Sara and Alexa, obviously not having thought about this outcome either when they went to bed last night.

“Well then I gotta join, I’ve heard so much about these famous pancakes,” Sara said, genuinely curious about them. She also wasn’t complaining about breakfast meaning she would get to spend more time with Ava before leaving.

“Why don’t you go down and set the table and we will be down in a minute?” Ava asked as she placed a kiss on the top of Alexa’s head.

“Okay!” Alexa said, disappearing from the bed in the span of seconds.

“No running!” Ava called after her, followed by the sound of Alexa’s footsteps getting slower. 

Ava turned to Sara and opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Sara pulled her close and kissed her slowly. She felt Ava relaxing against her before she pulled back.

“I better get down and start that batter,” she said apologetically, giving Sara one last kiss before getting up from the bed. “Feel free to borrow some clothes,” she said as she walked towards the door, gesturing to her closet.

“Thanks,” Sara smiled, stretching as Ava disappeared out of the door. 

She chuckled when she heard Ava call, “Breakfast before playing, it’ll be a few hours until they come pick up the bounce house! And brush your teeth first!”

Sara sighed as she jumped out of bed and made her way to Ava’s closet.

***

Breakfast with the Sharpes was better than she could have imagined. By the time Sara was done picking out some clothes and freshening up in Ava’s bathroom, Ava had already begun to cook the pancakes.

The pancakes definitely deserved all the hype with which Alexa spoke of them. It felt like heaven in her mouth, and at one point, Ava had told Alexa to slow down her eating, waited a breath, and repeated the same words to Sara. To which Sara had rolled her eyes, making Alexa laugh and Ava sigh exasperatedly. 

For most of the breakfast, however, Sara simply listened to Ava and Alexa’s easy conversation and smiled at the familiar way they interacted, only hoping to be allowed more windows like this into their lives in the future.

If the way Ava smiled at her when Alexa was distracted was anything to go by, she’d say her chances were pretty good.

**Author's Note:**

> Find us on tumblr @fvandomtrvsh and @wardenroot


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